1890-1928

American pilot and explorer who, with Lieutenant Commander Richard E. Byrd, claimed to be the first persons to fly to the North Pole. In that historic journey, Bennett flew a three-engine Fokker monoplane, the Josephine Ford, to the North Pole on May 9, 1926. He and Byrd received the Medals of Honor for the feat. Bennett died three years later in the midst of planning a trip to the South Pole with Byrd.